Research reports

Land consumption is a major issue worldwide as it contributes to loss of fertile soils, biodiversity and ecosystem services. Every day, approximately 52 ha of land is lost this way in Germany. Along with the land consumption, the demand for food is growing proportionally with the population. It is therefore necessary to find holistic solutions to feed the humankind in the future while addressing the issue of climate change. Urban farming is an emerging trend worldwide that can be part of the solutions. Specifically, rooftop greenhouses (RTGs) using existing urban roof space and fall out of the competition for land use. The fact that they can form synergies with their support buildings gives them an additional environmental benefit. Urban farming can also provide employment opportunities to less secure social groups and serve as education points (trainings, visits) in urban settlements.
The question of RTGs profitability will be addressed in this study within the framework of the GROOF (Greenhouses to reduce CO2 on Roofs) project. The specific case of the pilot greenhouse of the company IFSB will be studied.

Four years ago, the first rooftop greenhouse projects were being developed across Europe. The GROOF consortium, composed of a multidisciplinary team, was created to participate in the development of this promising sector. Four pilot projects of rooftop greenhouses were developed by four GROOF partners - IFSB: Bettembourg (Luxembourg), EBF: Bürstadt (Germany), Université de Liège: Gembloux (Belgium), Jardins de Gally: Saint-Denis (Paris-France). The year 2021 marks the completion of the construction of these pilot greenhouses and the start of their exploitation. On the basis of this experience, the GROOF team, through this report, highlights the various challenges encountered (before/during/future) and the resulting solutions.

In the framework of this new study dedicated to MaaS, Audrey Lebas - researcher at the Smart City Institute - met 8 major Belgian cities (Antwerp, Bruges, Charleroi, Ghent, Hasselt, Leuven, Liège and Namur), the Brussels Capital Region and the 4 Belgian public transport operators (STIB, SNCB, TEC, De Lijn) in order to collect their perception of the MaaS concept and its prerequisites; but also with regard to its practical deployment (roles of the different sectors, management model, distribution of roles between the levels of power). This report provides thus an information and discussion basis for public authorities and mobility stakeholders for the development, or not, of MaaS strategies and projects in Belgium in the short, medium and long term. 

In recent months, the various governments, in Belgium and elsewhere, have had to take action to tackle the health crisis caused by Covid-19. These measures have had an impact on the way municipalities and cities have had to adapt. At the Smart City Institute, in this complex period, the combination of the concepts of "sustainable and smart territories" and "crisis" led us to conduct empirical research in Wallonia in order to better understand the impacts of the Covid-19 crisis on the sustainable and smart transition of our territories ("Smart Cities/Territories"). Many questions arise and in particular, will this crisis slow down or, on the contrary, accelerate this transition? This report is an opportunity to evoke some initial avenues of response. Although we are not yet able to determine the full long-term effects of this situation, this research allows us to draw up an initial assessment of the situation. Our results indicate that during this complex period, Walloon municipalities saw this crisis as an opportunity to generate positive change, particularly through digital transition. The new context induced by the health crisis has created, in certain aspects, a favourable ground for the development of intelligent territories throughout Wallonia. New digital solutions that were not previously envisaged are now an integral part of the new way of working in local public administrations. While it is still too early to say that it has indeed accelerated the sustainable and smart transition of the Walloon territory, the crisis has nevertheless opened up new perspectives for our municipalities.